There’s the Los Angeles most outsiders think about: palm trees, beaches and celebrities. Then there’s the L.A. behind the postcard.
That’s the L.A. that Terri Batch focuses on. As chief executive of the startup Global LA, a public-private nonprofit partnership, her role is to attract foreign business investment in the City of Angels.
Although Batch (MPA ’02) is not involved in planning for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Global LA was established by local business and government leaders because of the coming games. And the Olympics are one of the selling points Batch makes in her pitches, which always includes the city’s lesser-known drawing cards.
“People outside of the U.S. know Hollywood, they know Beverly Hills, they may know Santa Monica,” Batch said.
“But they don’t know Leimert Park Village (a hub of African American art and culture), Boyle Heights, parts of the valley, and if they do know about these places, there’s sometimes a negative connotation associated with them.
“But these different communities help make Los Angeles what it is, and they represent amazing opportunities for business and foreign investment.”
Carrying the torch
The recent wildfires that devastated the Los Angeles hillside communities of Pacific Palisades and Altadena have made Batch’s job more challenging.
“You don’t even hear about the Olympics anymore,” said Batch, noting that the games represent a $9 billion investment for Los Angeles, but the cost of the infernos ranges anywhere from $50 billion to $250 billion.
Batch continues carrying the torch to support the rebuilding efforts and prepare for the Olympic games for the city she was introduced to when she came to the USC Price School of Public Policy as a dean’s merit scholar with experience abroad. She’s fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and when she was at Spelman College – the private, historically Black women’s liberal arts college in Atlanta – she spent a summer in UC Berkeley’s Public Policy and International Affairs program.
Batch joined Global LA in November 2023 after a 20-year career in public service specializing in international trade. She helped U.S. companies access and compete in markets around the world while at the West Los Angeles Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) U.S. Commercial Service.
A diverse perspective
Batch’s global perspective began years before Spelman, where she majored in computer science.
She graduated high school north of Atlanta in Gwinnett County, one of America’s most diverse. She had many Asian friends in high school, which sparked her interest in China.
During the summer and fall semester of her junior year at Spelman, Batch lived in China for six months as a recipient of a national security education fellowship. There, she fell in love with the culture and language.
Batch took three years to earn her master of public administration at the Price School because she went to Taiwan for a year to attend an extensive language program in Taipei at National Taiwan University.
“It was a time of great exploration and discovery as my world view was expanded through exposure to new cultures, languages, and history,” Batch recalled.
Active at USC Price
Batch has maintained close ties to USC Price.
Rym Kaki, Associate Professor (teaching) and Director of the International Public Policy & Management Program at the USC Price School, has collaborated with her numerous times since 2020.
Batch is a frequent guest speaker in Kaki’s courses, where she shares her experience as a senior professional at the U.S. Department of Commerce. This past fall, Batch served as the institutional client for a Price capstone project group. Students had to design strategies for attracting foreign direct investment to Los Angeles by leveraging the 2028 Olympic Games.
“We very much value her dedication to empowering USC Price students and her mission to foster diversity, inclusion, and international dialogue,” Kaki said.
LaVonna Lewis, a Professor (teaching), also works with Batch. In addition to speaking in Lewis’ classes, Batch has been a regular participant in Black History Month celebrations over the years.
“Her authenticity about her advancement and her career navigation decisions allowed her to connect with students who had questions about the options available to them – locally, nationally, and globally,” Lewis said.
‘Enormous’ opportunities
Batch is visiting Tokyo in March to pitch direct investment in Los Angeles in a trip involving the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board and the U.S. Embassy. Japan already is the No. 1 investor in L.A. (followed by the United Kingdom).
The opportunities of investing in L.A. are “enormous.” Batch said. They include rebuilding L.A. after the fires, preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games, and the future of technology, media and entertainment, as well as life sciences and talent from local universities, like USC.
“It’s about getting out there and telling people from abroad, ‘Hey, we’re open for business – we want you to invest here,” she said.
